Portable silage rack



Aug. 30,1949. v A. F. R'ATHGr-:BER 2,480,609

PORTABLE SILAGE RACK A Filed Nov. 16, 1945 6 SheetS-SheefI l I lweutor ttorneys Aug. 30, 1949. A. F. RATHGEBER' PORTABLE SILAGE RACK es sheets-sheet 2 Filed Nov IIIIJe/l Attorneys ug- 30 1949. A. F. RATHGEBER PORTABLE SILAGE RACK 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 16, 1945 Inventar Aug. .30; w49.

PORTABLE SILAGE RACK Filed Nov. 16, 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 A.F. RATHGEER v 2,480,609l

I )mentor Aug. 30, 1949- A. F. RATHGEER '12,480,609

PORTABLE S ILAGE RACK Filed Nov. 16, 1945 e sheets-sheet 5 liu-cular Aug. '30, 1949. l

A. F. RATHGEBER 2,480,609

PORTABLE SILAGE RACK Filed Nov. `16, 1945 1li? l Attorneys 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Aug. 3o, 1949 f 2,480,609

UNITED STATES PATENT UFFICE rtlitir Fred athgelier, Tipton; Kans-3 of one-half to Donald H. Hobbie, Tipton; Kans. Applicata November 16, wie seriali sa: reitet ielaim. (c1. 298:21) 2 This inven'ur; relates to a portable guage rack insite exi-ds by tfaasv'rsiy extending parallel and more partieularly to a; receptacle adaptedA to' rails 22 Extending between the-rail'sfZZ il Sled be env-eyed in unisonwitha' suage vcutter to re: relation to' the' siae'aus :l 're eer'verginr rails 2s loeive and store the' out silage preparatory to whioli are joined adac'e't deliveryl to a suitable conveyance for transporta 5 gent nds lov a'trarisvrs'l'y izteiiding aXl'Zl pro:

tion u; a, suo' of meagre@ receptaue. vided with .suitable leru' jonas; 2e 'es rryiirg br empleymg Y this investie@ ,whqhmbgdi the gli'ass'is; i 1li/5; Phl' among .its features ,Wheeled trailer vehicle tongues! teli Wr, adapted for attachmentto silagelrtten a s unerf 20 adrawfpar 3 2 wh h is structure Sursee@ ,dri ,meeneem-f1 `v,e',h11e ,a wie; raf ed@ tiliabe ein meuntd ie'retaiwbout .a `11.0rlzenial' Til't'., by, *S0 axis on the'super'strueture-ior thedsc'hargeof thef that' when t e' ontents" thereof, and a door closing onev side of Iiialtes a tu the bin through which thev discharge of the sila'ge 25 unison a takes place when the bin is tilted.v follofwut ne Other features embody means automatically to Exten'dn :ilove the' door to open position as the bin is being en@ ztiiv u; tilted,V and to restorey the' door to closed posi-tion W,inn-s 3wliiql1are when the bin s returned to its normal horizontal' 30 t e s'i de zarfrl 'end njifvf position. lqraioesl1-3Q-lg-k bin Still other features ernlciody'4 power aetuated" means for tilting the'r bin to disohargepo's'ition.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side View oia' s 'ilage'rackembodyi 35' ing thefeatures of thisv in ve'nt'iorr,v

Figure 2 is a top plan View of Figurf'l",v Figure 3 is a rear end View of Figurel', Figure 4 is a transverse"sectionalview through the silage rack iIlustrated'Figure 1, 40y

Figure 5 is a horizontalVA sectional view taken substantially on the line 5 `-"5 of` Figure 1,-

Figure 6 is a' fragmentary perspective View of the b shotvrigithedooi mont'ngandactllatih'g: v means', l i l l t. 4s' Figure 7 is a sidefvlw of'a'rnodied'form of this invention,

Figure 8 is a rear eridiviewof Figure 7', and Figure 9 is a diagraininatie'y lola'ri View of' the hydraulic control-for the bin elevating'v meohanisni' eir'iplo'y'edV in the struotur'illustrated in' FiguresL '7d8- v Referring totlie drawings in d etailjga chassis or when the same is in normal horizontal position on the frame 35, I provide a door mechanism designated generally 46 comprising a door 41 which is substantially coextensive with the open side of the bin and attached to the door at opposite ends are convergent bars 48 which are pivotally attached at their convergent ends as at 49 to opposite sides 43 of the bin 4|. Rotatably mounted on suitable trunnions 50 carried by opposite sides 43 of the bin 4| near the bottom 42 and intermediate the end wall 44 and the door 41 are idler pulleys 52 which cooperate with guide pulleys 53 which are rotatably mounted as at 54 in suitable brackets 55 carried by the side walls 43 of the bin 4| adjacent their upper edges and near the ends adjacent the door 41. A cable 56 is attached at one end to the lowermost bar 48 adjacent its lower end and this cable is trained over the guide pulleys 53 and idler pulleyV 52 as will be readily appreciated upon reference to Figd ure 3. The ends of the cable 55 opposite to that which is attached to the rail 48 is attached to a retractile coil spring 51, the opposite end of which is anchored in any suitable manner to the chassis 20. It will be understoodthat such 'a cable and roller arrangement is provided on each side wall 43 of the bin 4| so that as the bin is tilted as suggested by the dotted lines in Figure 3, the door 41 will be moved to open position.

Rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 58 mounted on the columns 53 opposite those adjacent which the end of the bin is pivoted is a drive shaft 59 carrying a winding drum 56 and attached to one end of the drive shaft is a drive sprocket over which a drive chain 62 is trained This chain has driving connection with a sprocket 63 which is mounted at one end of a main drive shaft 64, which is journaled in suitable bearing 65 carried by the tongue 3|, and this shaft 64 is connected to a suitable universal joint 66 with the power take-off shaft 61 of the leading vehicle or silage cutter. Secured to the chassis 2|)V adjacent opposite ends of the shaft 59 are standards 68 which are joined at their upper ends by a horizontally extending bar 69 and are held in cross braces 10. Rotatably supported adjacent the upper ends of the standard 58 are elevating pulleys 1|, and attached to suitable brackets 12 carried by the bin 4| adjacent the loweredge of the rear wall 44 are pulleys 13. A cable 14 is attached to each standard 68 near its upper end and extends downwardly around each pulley 13 and thence upwardly over its respective elevating pulleys 1| from which the cable extends downwardly and is attached to the drum 60 so that upon rotation of the drum in a direction to wind the cable thereon a lift will be exertedon the pulleys 13 and transmitted through their respective brackets 12 to the bin 4| so as to move it into the dotted line position illustrated in Figure 3. It will thus be seen that the bin may be elevated to discharging position through the medium of the power take-off of the silage cutter and upon reverse motion of the drum 60 the bin may be restored to normal silage receiving position without in any way interrupting the progress of the cutting of the silage.

In the modification illustrated in Figures '1 to 9 inclusive, the chassis is designated generally 2U' and carries the standard 33 which support at their upper ends a frame to which is pivotally mounted as at a bin designated generally 4|'. The bin 4| corresponds in all details to the bin 4|, previously described, and is provided with a door mechanism designated genrigid relation by of the bin adjacent its bottom and between op-v erally 46 which corresponds in all details to the door mechanism 46. In fact, the fundamental diierence between the structure previously described and the one illustrated in Figures 7 and 9 inclusive resides in the substitution of hydraulic cylinders 15 which are pivoted as at 16 to the chassis 28 and are iitted with pistons to which piston rods 11 are connected for vertical movement with relation to the cylinder 15. The upper ends of the piston rods are pivotally attached as at 18 to suitable brackets 19 secured to the underside of the bottom of the bin 4|' as will be readily understood upon reference to Figures 1 and 8. In order that the pistons within the cylinders 15 may be moved in unison under hydraulic pressure, a pipe 88 is connected to each cylinder adjacent its lower end and this pipe is connected through a suitable control valve 8 l' to the pressure line` 82 of a suitable hydraulic system (not shown) which may be carried on the leading vehi-cle or silage cutter. The door 46' is opened by the same general type of mechanism employed in the structure previously described by means ofV the cable 5G' operating over pulleys 53' and 52 and through the springs 51 which are attached as previously described to the chassis 20'.

In operation, it will be understood that as the bin 4| is moved to load discharging position -through either the cable mechanism illustrated in Figures 1 through 6 inclusive or through the medium of the hydraulic mechanism illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, the roller 52 will move upwardly while the roller 54 moves outwardly so as to cause the door 41 to be opened as suggested by the dotted lines in Figure 3. Upon the return of the bin 4| to its normal horizontal position, the door 41 will close the open side of the bin to prevent the discharge or the contents untilthe next discharge operation is performed. Ob-

Y viously, the cutting of the silage may progress uninterruptedly during the discharge of the bin as it is possible to drive a vehicle alongside the silage rack so that the latter will move in unison with the vehicle and discharge the contents of the bin 4| Ywhich may be eiected in transit. Obviously, with the use o aA device of this character much time and labor can be saved in the cutting and storing of the silage as the cutting need not be interrupted while the silage is being gathered and stored.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minorv changes in the details of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

, A portable silage rack adapted to cooperate with a field silage cutter to receive the silage as it is being cut `comprising a wheel supported bed, a pivot shaft mounted on the bed and lying along a horizontal axis which lies parallel with the longitudinal axis of and in vertically spaced relation to the bed, a bin pivotally supported at one side edge of its bottom on the pivot shaft to swing in a vertical arc above the bed, means for tilting the bin about the horizontal axis into load discharging position, said bin being open along the side adjacent the pivot'shaft, a door pivotallysupported adjacent the side of the bin remote irom its open side, said door closing the open side of the bin when the latter is in load receiving position, a sheave mounted to rotate on the end posite sides thereof, a. guide pulley mounted on the end of the bin near its upper edge and adjacent the side having the door opening, a cable anchored at one end to the door and trained over the guide pulley and the sheave, and the opposite end of the cable being yieldingly connected to the vehicle bed whereby when the bin is tilted `to discharge the contents thereof the door automatilcally will lbe moved to open position with relation to the open side of the bin.

.ARTHUR FRED RA'I'HGEBER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record 1n the file of this patent:

Number 10 Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Ditmer Mar. 21, 1911 Payer Mar. 17, 1914 Lowney Sept. 1, 1914 Hokanson Feb. 15, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Australia. June 1, 1936 

